Guard for a water bag or the like



April 26, 1960 v. T. LINDSEY 2,934,122

GUARD FOR A WATER BAG OR THE LIKE Filed June 13, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet l April 26, 1960 v. T. LINDSEY GUARD FOR A WATER BAG OR THE LIKE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 13, 1958 lllll II II H H H llllil 40 IIIH II H H H H HE!" IIIH II II H H H mam IIIH I! H II H H llllHl m/va/w'an. Val-nus Z Zia/5 1 ted States Pate The present invention relates to a guard for a water bag which is constructed to protect the bag from wear due to rubbing or scruffing, and which at the same time is constructed in such a manner that it does not interfere any way with the ability of the bag to maintain the liquid contained in it in a cool condition.

Water bags composed of canvas, or other porous material, are well known and widely used. These water bags have the feature of permitting a small percentage of the liquid contained in them to seep through the material and evaporate. This evaporation of the seeped liquid provides a cooling effect on the liquid remaining in the bag.

Water bags of the type referred to above are widely used, for example, in construction work and in earth excavating projects. Most health laws and most union contracts require that the employer provide suitable drinking water on the job. The most feasible way to comply with the contract and legal requirements is by the use of water bags of the general type referred to above. This use eliminates excessive work stoppages that would be en-' countered, especially in warm weather, if the employees were obligated to go to some central point or points for a drink of water.

It is the usual procedure for the employees to hang the water bags on any convenient projection on the outside of their vehicular equipment. This places the bag in an airstream which is usually sufficient to provide enough evaporation for the desired cooling eifect. The equipment used, for example, includes vehicles such as bulldozers, tractors, graders, power shovels and the like which are subject to Violent-motion. It follows, therefore, that the water bags hanging on projections from such vehicles are subject to excessive wear.

It has been found impractical, if not impossible, to provide a material capable of withstanding the wear referred to above, and yet capable of providing the desired evaporating-cooling effect. For that reason, the avearge life of a present day water bag of the type under consideration is of the order of two weeks. After that time, the bag loses its liquid at too great a rate to render practical for any further use. The replacement costs of water bags in the particular situation discussed above represents, therefore, a considerable expense to the contractor, especially over relatively long periods of time.

It is, accordingly, an object of the present invention to provide a suitable guard for the porous type of water bag discussed above, which guard will prolong the life of the water bag without interfering in any manner with its ability to keep its liquid in a cool condition. This object is achieved in the embodiments of the invention to be described by the provision of a net-like guard structure which may be composed of rope, plastic or other suitable material. The guard may be made into various shapes and sizes to fit the different shapes and sizes of this type of water bag. Moreover, it may be constructed to be removable so that it can be used with a number of water bags.

The use of a constructed embodiment of the guard of the invention has been found to prolong the life of a typical porous water bag from the usual two weeks up to over six months.

The water bag guard of the present invention is also advantageous in that it may be economically made so as to be relatively low in cost.

It has been found that most of the wear of the porous Water bags described above occurs at the lower portion of the bag. This is to be expected, since it is usual to suspend the bag from its upper end so that most motion occurs at its lower extremities. Because of this, the guard of the invention may terminate about halfway up the bag to further minimize the cost of the guard, and to further minimize its interference with the evaporating properties of the bag.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the guard is provided with ribs which extend essentially horizontally when the bag is hung in place. It is these ribs that serve to protect the bag from wear and scruffing. Because the ribs extend along the normal arc of movement of the bag as it is hung in place, they have little or no tendency to engage projections from the vehicle, so that the free swing of the water bag is not impeded in any way.

Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon a consideration of the following specification in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure l is a side elevational view of a porous type of Water bag having a guard constructed in accordance with the invention fastened to it, the illustrated guard being composed of rope and being constructed to be easily removable from the water bag for use with other bags;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of thewater bag and guard of Figure 1, this view being taken substantially along the line 22 of Figure 1, and the latter view showing the guard surrounding the bag when it is empty, and the manner in which the guard expands outwardly as the bag is filled with liquid, the latter condition being illustrated by the partial showing of the dashed lines;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view showing a convenient means whereby the various ropes making up the guard of Figures 1 and 2 are joined together; although, of course, other suitable means may be used;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary View showing a securing means and a pair of crossed ropes of the guard of Figures 1 and 2, and the manner in which the securing means may be tightened to hold the ropes together;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary view of a pair of ropes of the portion of the guard extending around the top of the water bag in Figures 1 and 2, this latter view showing an appropriate adjustable clip for holding the ropes together and thereby holding the guard in place;

Figure 6 is a side elevational View of a modified guard constructed in accordance with the invention and surrounding a water bag similar to the water bag of Figures 1 and 2, the guard of Figure 6 being composed, for example, of a plastic material;

Figure 7 is a sectional view substantially on the line 7-7 of Figure 6 and showing the composition of the plastic guard;

Figure 8 is a side sectional view substantially on the line 8-8 of Figure 6 and showing a plurality of outer ribs formed by the plastic guard, these ribs extending substantially horizontally when the guard is in place; and

Figures 9 and 10 show the manner in which the various elements of the guard of Figure 6 are secured together, with the horizontal rib-like elements being external, for reasons to be described.

Reference will now be made to the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figures 1-5. These figures illustrate a water bag 10 of generally rectangular configuration. The water bag is composed of a flexible, porous material, such as canvas, and it is adapted to swell outwardly when the bag is filled with a liquid. The bag 10 has an upper end and a lower end, and it is equipped with a usual spout 12 at its upper end which permits the introduction of liquid into the bag, and the removal of the liquid.

As described above, the porous material which makes up the water bag 10 permits a portion of the liquid contained in the bag to seep through and evaporate. This evaporation of the liquid which seeps through the material serves to provide a cooling effect to maintain the liquid remaining in the bag in cooled condition.

In the embodiment of Fig. 1, a rope handle 14 is provided for the bag, as is usual for bags of this type. This handle extends through a pair of holes 16 and 18 in the top portion of the bag, and the free ends of the rope which makes up the handle 14 are held together by a clasp 20. This clasp 20 is shown in greater detail in Figure 5, and it will be observed that the clasp has a generally S-shapcd cross section to receive the two ends of the rope handle, and it is provided with a series of tongs 22 which are bent inwardly to engage the rope handle 14 so as to prevent it from sliding through the clasp.

The rope handle 14 serves to support the bag from any suitable projection on a supporting vehicular structure, in the manner described above. When the bag is so hung or supported from the projection, it has a free swinging relationship with the supporting structure.

The guard of the invention in the embodiment illustrated in Figures l includes a first plurality of flexible ropes designated 24 which may be integral with one another, and which extend around the water bag in essentially parallel relationship with one another and with the top and bottom of the water bag. The ropes 24 of the first plurality are adapted to engage the surface of the supporting structure in rubbing contact with that surface and thereby prevent the rubbing and scraping action of the water bag against the supporting structure. A second plurality of flexible ropes 26 extend partially around the Water bag in spaced parallel relationship with one another and essentially perpendicular to the ropes 24 of the first plurality.

As illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, the ropes of the first and second pluralities form a net-like flexible structure which encircles the lower portion of the water bag and which is capable of swelling outwardly with the water bag as the latter is filled with a liquid. In the illustrated embodiment, the net-like structure extends from the bottom of the water bag approximately halfway up the sides. As noted above, most of the wear on the water bag normally occurs at the lower portion, especially at the lower corners, so that adequate protection is provided by the guard when it encloses only the lower portion of the bag.

' A plurality of clips, or other suitable fasteners, secure selected ones of the ropes of the first plurality to the selected ones of the ropes of the second plurality to hold the ropes of both pluralities in their illustrated.

mutually spaced positions, thereby to form the net-like flexible structure referred to above. These clips are designated 28 inFigures 1, 2, 3 and 4. As shown more 'clearly inFigure 4, the fasteners may, for example, be

composed of a metal strip which is turned over the rope 24 and around to engage the crossing rope 26.

The net-like structure is held in place on the water bag by a pair of ropes 30 and 32. These ropes are integral with or fastened to a corresponding pair of the ropes 26, and they extend up over the top of the water bag. A pair of fasteners 34 and 36 hold the ends of the ropes 30 and 32 together. The fasteners 34 and 36 may be similar to the fastener described above.

In the illustrated embodiment of Figures 1-5, the horizontal ropes 24 are the outer ropes, and the vertical ropes 26 are the inner ropes. This means that the ropes 24 are the ones which actually engage the rubbing surface of the supporting structure when the bag is hung in place. This is desirable, for these ropes extend substantially along the arc of swing of the bag when it is hung in place and provide for a minimum of interference with other extraneous projections from the projecting surface.

As shown in Figure 2, when the bag is filled with water, the net-like guard of the invention is adapted to swell outwardly (shown by the dashed fragmentary lines) with the bag i and to constitute a rugged and eflicient guard for the bag which does not interfere in any manner with the cooling properties of the water bag.

The guard assembly of Figures 6-l0 is generally similar to the assembly described above. The latter assembly, however, is conveniently composed of a flexible plastic material. As illustrated, the guard includes a first plurality of ribs 40 which are composed of flexible plastic material and which are adapted to' extend around the water bag 10 in spaced parallel relationship with one another and with the top and bottom of the'bag. These ribs are the outer ribs of the guard, and in a manner similar to that described above, they are adapted to engage the rubbing surface of the supportingstructure in rubbing contact and thereby prevent rubbing or scrufling of the water bag against that surface.

' A second plurality of ribs or flexible plastic material are designated 42, and these latter ribs are adapted to extend upwardly in perpendicular relationship with the ribs 40 and in spaced parallel relationship withone another. The ribs 42 are positioned on the inner side of the ribs 40 and between the ribs 40 and the water bag 10. The ribs 40 therefore constitute the outer ribs of the guard, which is desired for the reasons. described above. The ribs 42 and the ribs 40 are secured to one another by fusing the plastic material, and in the manner shown in Figures 9 and 10.

The ribs 40 and 420i the embodiment of the invention shown in Figures 6-10 likewise form a net-like flexible structure for enclosing at least a portion of the water bag and which also is capable of swelling outwardly with the water bag as the latter is filled with liquid. The lower portion of the resulting net-like structure is preferably of a somewhat solid configuration, as shown most clearly in Figures 6 and 8. This lower portion is designated 44, and as shown in these figures, it preferably has enclosed corners to protect the bag at those points at which the maximum wear has been found to occur, and the bottom portion 44 has apertured sides to prevent any accumulation of liquid dripping from the water bag. (See also Figure 7.)

A pair of strips 46 and 48 are secured to the upper portion of the net-like guard structure, and each of these straps extends up over the top of the water bag. Each strap may have a buckle 50, and this buckle serves to releasably hold the ends of the straps together and thereby to hold the guard on the water bag. The structure of Figures 6-10 is also constructed to extend only halfway up the sides of the water bag forthe reasons described above. t The invention provides, therefore, an improved flexible net-like structure for guarding a water bag of the type described and which is composed of a porous, flexible material. The guard of the invention may be composed of any suitable material and may have any suitable configuration, depending upon the size and shape of the water bag to be guarded. The, structure of the invention is constructed to provide adequate protection for the water bag without interfering in any manner with the natural flexing of the bag as it is filled with the liquid, and without interfering with the ability of the bag to cool the contained liquid by the evaporation eifect.

The guard of the invention may be constructed, as described above, to bercmovable from the water bag, so that it may be used with a plurality of such bags. As

noted above, a constructed embodiment of the invention has been found to prolong the life of a water bag from the usual two weeks to over six months. When the bag finally does wear out, which of course will happen in time due to the rotting eflect of the liquid on the porous material, it can be replaced and the same guard used for many years with the replacement bags.

I claim:

1. A guard for a water bag, the bag being of the type composed of flexible porous material adapted to swell outwardly when the bag is filled with liquid, the material permitting a percentage of the liquid to seep through and evaporate so as to provide a cooling effect for the liquid remaining in the bag, the bag normally having handle means aflixed thereto to enable the bag to be hung from a projection on a supporting structure in a free swinging relationship with the supporting structure, the guard including: a first plurality of ribs of flexible material adapted to extend around the water bag to rub against the supporting structure and prevent rubbing and scrufiing of the water bag itself, a second plurality of ribs of flexible material extending transversely to the ribs of the first plurality and secured to selected ones of the ribs of the first plurality to hold the respective ribs of each plurality in mutually spaced positions thereby to form a net-like flexible structure for encircling at least a portion of the water bag and which is capable of swelling outwardly with the water bag as the latter is filled with liquid, and means secured to selected ones of said ribs and adapted to extend around the top of the water bag to hold the net-like flexible structure in place on the water bag.

2. A guard for a water bag, said bag being of the type having a generally rectangular configuration and composed of flexible porous material adapted to swell outwardly when the bag is filled with liquid, the material permitting a percentage of the liquid to seep through and evaporate so as to provide a cooling effect for the liquid remaining in the bag, the bag having a handle at the upper end thereof to permit the bag to be hung from a projection on a supporting structure in a free swinging relationship with the supporting structure, the guard including: a first plurality of ribs of flexible material adapted to extend around the water bag in spaced parallel relationship with one another and with the top and bottom of the water bag, said ribs of the first plurality being adapted to engage the supporting structure in rubbing contact to prevent rubbing and scruifing action of the water bag against the supporting structure, a second plurality of ribs of flexible material disposed between the ribs of the first plurality and the water bag and extending substantially perpendicularly to the ribs of the first plurality in spaced parallel relationship with one another, selected ones of the ribs of the second plurality being secured to selected ones of the ribs of the first plurality to hold the respective ribs of both pluralities in mutually spaced positions thereby to form a netdike flexible structure for encircling at least a portion of the water bag and which is capable of swelling outwardly with the water bag as the latter is filled with a liquid, and means secured to selected ones of said ribs and adapted to extend around the top of the water bag to hold the net-like flexible structure in place on the water bag.

3. A guard for a water bag, said bag being of the type having a generally rectangular configuration and com-' posed of flexible porous material adapted to swell outwardly when the bag is filled with liquid, the material permitting a percentage of the liquid to seep through and evaporate so as to provide a cooling eifect on the liquid remaining in the bag, the bag having a handle at the upper end thereof to permit the bag to be hung from a projection on a supporting structure in a free swinging relationship with the supporting structure, the guard including: a first plurality of flexible ropes adapted to'extend around the water bag for engaging the supporting structure in rubbing contact therewith so as to prevent rubbing and scrufiing action of the water bag against the supporting structure, a second plurality of flexible ropes extending transversely to the first plurality, means for securing selected ones of the ropes of the second plurality to selected ones of ropes of the first plurality to hold the respective ropes of both pluralities in mutually spaced positions thereby to form a net-like flexible structure for enclosing at least a portion of the water bag and which is capable of swelling outwardly with the water bag as the latter is filled with a liquid, and means secured to selected ones of said ropes and adapted to extend around the top of the water bag to hold the net-like flexible structure in place on the water bag.

4. A guard for a water bag, said bag being of the type having a generally rectangular configuration and composed of flexible porous material adapted to swell outwardly when the bag is filled with liquid, the material permitting a percentage of the liquid to seep through and evaporate to provide a cooling eflect for the liquid remaining in the bag, the bag having a handle at the upper end thereof to permit the bag to be hung from a projection on a supporting structure in a free swinging relationship with the supporting structure, the guard including: a first plurality of ribs of flexible plastic material adapted to extend around the water bag for engaging the supporting structure in a rubbing contact and thereby prevent the rubbing and scrufling action of the water bag against the supporting structure, a second plurality of ribs of flexible plastic material extending transversely to the first plurality of ribs and interposed between the ribs of the first plurality and the bag; selected ones of the ribs of the second plurality being secured to selected ones of the ribs of the first plurality to hold the respective ribs of both pluralities in mutually spaced positions whereby to form a net-like flexible structure for enclosing at least a portion of the water bag and which is capable of swelling outwardly with the water bag as the latter is filled with a liquid, and releasable strap means secured to selected ones of said ribs and adapted to extend around the top of the water bag to hold the net-like flexible structure releasably in place on the water bag.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,188,904 Cosgrifi June 27, 1916 1,308,263 Smith July 1, 1919 1,353,236 Hatfield Sept. 21, 1920 1,897,438 Mykol Feb. 14, 1933 2,059,511 Engleman Nov. 3, 1936 2,295,590 Manson et a1 Sept. 15. 1942 

